October 24, 2015

As part of our ongoing coverage of paid leave, we’re rounding up the most important news from the week. Here’s what you need to know about paid leave, working parents, and child care in the United States and abroad.

British men have 50 weeks of parental leave to share with their partners, but few new dads use it. The shared parental leave policy has been in effect since April, but men still worry that taking an extended period of time off would be “frowned upon.”

This start-up pays for employees’ pregnancy wardrobes. Domo, a small company in Utah, has added a new perk to its benefits package: Pregnant employees will receive $2000 to spend on maternity clothes.

Another benefit to paid sick leave: Staying flu-free. Passing a paid-sick leave law would lower American flu rates by at least 5 percent, according to a new study by economists.

Would a paid-leave mandate hurt small businesses? It hasn’t in California. The evidence from the Sunshine State, which passed a paid-leave mandate 11 years ago, proves that paid family leave is a business-friendly policy.

A new crowdsourced database helps job-hunting women find out what kind of maternity leave future employers offer. Only five Fortune 100 companies disclose maternity leave policies on their websites; Fairygodboss’s Maternity Leave Resource Center, which lists over 500 companies, fills in the gap. Fortune calls it the “Yelp for maternity leave benefits.”

How did family leave finally become a national political issue? According to NPR, we have Obama to thank, along with men’s increased interest in childrearing and the fact that women vote more than men.